After months of speculation and more than a dozen rumored names, UFC president Dana White today announced heavyweight contenders Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos will be coaches on the upcoming 13th season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

White made the announcement during a media call.

“The Ultimate Fighter 13″ debuts March 30 on Spike TV, and a live finale is slated for June 4. The coaches meet in a season-ending fight in June, possibly at UFC 131 in Toronto.

Although initially announced as a middleweight and welterweight season of the UFC’s long-running reality series, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) reported earlier this week that producers instead opted to make “TUF 13″ a welterweights-only show. Production begins this month in Las Vegas. In an elimination round of fights, 28 hopefuls will fight for 14 official cast spots. The show uses a 32-slot tournament, which includes two “wild card” picks who earn a second life in the quarterfinals.

White said Velasquez’s recent shoulder surgery and long layoff opened the door for Lesnar and Dos Santos, which then “made all the sense in the world.” However, no interim title will be on the line when the coaches fight, though the winner gets an immediate title shot with Velasquez.

Lesnar (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is a former titleholder who lost his belt to current champ Cain Velasquez in October. The former WWE star has emerged as the UFC’s top pay-per-view draw, and his inclusion in “TUF” should translate to big ratings.

“TUF” debuted in 2005 and proved a ratings hit. It also helped the UFC’s and MMA’s move into the mainstream. Since the debut season, the show has launched the career of more than 100 UFC fighters, and past cast members Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans and Matt Serra went on to win UFC titles.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?